Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies - SFU Reimagining the Shahnameh for a New Generation

Join artist Hamid Rahmanian on a fascinating visual tour of the Shahnameh recreated as a cinematic shadow play, artwork, and a pop-up book.

In 2010 Hamid Rahmanian, a New York–based Iranian filmmaker and graphic artist, started working on a multi disciplinary project based on the tenth century Persian epic poem “Shahnameh”(Book of Kings) by Ferdowsi. Rahmanian’s vision has been to introduce the art and stories of this collection to a diverse and multi-generational audience.

The first component of the project was an illustrated, best-selling adaptation entitled SHAHNAMEH: THE EPIC OF THE PERSIAN KINGS, which the Wall Street Journal called “a masterpiece”. The artwork from this book has been exhibited and purchased by several museums. In 2016, Mr. Rahmanian created a cinematic shadow play for the theater based on the love story of Zaul and Rudabeh, entitled FEATHERS OF FIRE: A PERSIAN EPIC. In 2017, he released an immersive audiobook version of SHAHNAMEH: THE EPIC OF THE PERSIAN KINGS and a pop up book, entitled ZAHAAK: THE LEGEND OF THE SERPENT KING, which won the 2018 Meggendorfer Prize. Mr. Rahmanian will take the audience during this event on a fascinating visual tour, showing how the Shahnameh has been modernized to speak to a new generation.